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Alfred H. Littlefield

American politician (1829-1893)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ886188
Source-derived summary

Alfred Henry Littlefield (April 2, 1829 – December 21, 1893) was an American businessman and politician. He was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and the Rhode Island Senate, and was the 35th governor of Rhode Island.

Early life

Littlefield was born in Scituate, Providence County, Rhode Island, on April 12, 1829. In 1831, his family moved to Warwick, Rhode Island, where he attended the common schools. He worked at a dry goods store in Central Falls, Rhode Island, before working at the Littlefield Manufacturing Company. He became a partner in the company, eventually serving as president. He helped found the Pawtucket Hair Cloth Company in 1861 with his brother Daniel, and served as director until his death.

In 1864, he served as the division inspector of the Rhode Island Militia, and was promoted to colonel. He served in the militia for five years.

Political career

Littlefield began his political career as a member of the Lincoln Town Council in 1873, and was reelected to that office four times.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Alfred H. Littlefield” as american politician (1829-1893). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1829, 1893, 1831, 1861—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1829-04-02. The account is most persuasive where Alfred, Littlefield and American can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american politician (1829-1893). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q886188. VIAF identifies the subject as 66021712. The Library of Congress control number is no00087016. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1829, 1893, 1831 and 1861.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Alfred H. Littlefield”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Alfred H. Littlefield primary sources, Alfred H. Littlefield archive and Alfred research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alfred H. Littlefield”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Alfred H. Littlefield” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.